THE IDENTIFIED PATIENT AND STAGE OF FAMILY DEVELOPMENT

The relationships between child vulnerability to stress, birth order, and stage of family development were assessed. Four stages were identified: Stage I involves 2 parents and their 2 or 3 natural children; Stage II, following divorce, involves mother and her 2 or 3 natural children; Stage III following remarriage, involves mother, stepfather, and mother's 2 or 3 natural children; and Stage IV involves mother, stepfather, mother's 2 or 3 natural children from her first marriage, and the single child from her current marriage. In general, vulnerability of first borns and last borns shifted across stages in a complementary fashion. First borns were most vulnerable in Stage III, least vulnerable in Stage IV, and at intermediate levels in Stages I and II. Last borns were most vulnerable in Stage IV and least vulnerable in Stage HI. The results were interpreted in terms of a linkage between emotional symptoms, gains and losses in privileged positions in the family, and changes in mother-child closeness.     

Birth order effects on young students’ academic achievement

We examine birth order effects on academic achievement for ten-year-old students using data for the entire population of fifth graders in Norway 2007/2008. The analysis thus adds to a thin empirical literature focusing on birth order effects among young children. We find that being firstborn confers a significant advantage in families with two, three and four children. The analysis makes two other contributions. First, we provide evidence that unless mother's age at childbirth is included among the control variables, only small and imprecise birth order effects are revealed in families with low socioeconomic status. Second, we provide some evidence that the birth order effects differ across families with highly educated and less educated mothers, which lend support to the resource dilution model over the confluence model.     

DO DRAGONS HAVE BETTER FATE?

Traditionally, belief in the Chinese zodiac promotes the superstition that the timing of one's birth determines one's fate. Adherence to this belief has resulted in increased birth rates during Dragon years and, hence, problems in the logistics of providing certain public goods and services (such as schools and medical services) by governments. Despite the possible economic impacts of this superstition on society, no previous study has attempted to test its validity. Using the 1991 and 1996 Hong Kong census data sets, as well as the standard return-to-education methodology, we do not find any evidence for this pervasive superstition. (JEL J13 , J18 , Z12 )     

Part-time work and hurried adolescence: the links among work intensity, social activities, health behaviors, and substance use

The present study examines adolescents' part-time work intensity and its relation to participation in various activities as well as substance use. We consider mechanisms articulated in two theoretical perspectives on how high work intensity is associated with substance use: (1) the "time trade-off perspective," and (2) "the precocious development perspective." Nationally representative data were drawn from the "Monitoring the Future" project from 8th, 10th and 12th grade students (overall N approximately 380,000) to address our research questions. Work intensity was found to be linked to more time spent on unstructured social activities, but to less time spent engaged in sports, health behaviors, and school-related activities. Social time use and health behaviors were found to partially mediate the relationship between work hours and substance use. Overall, results provide evidence for a combination of both perspectives.     

THE IMPACT OF MACROECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN CHILDHOOD ON ADULT LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES

This study examines the influence of business cycles in childhood on economic performance later in life. I relate unemployment rates between the year before one's birth and the year of one's 15th birthday to schooling, employment, and income as an adult. The analysis exploits variation in macroeconomic conditions across states over time. I address a number of identification challenges related to cohort effects, linear trends, current events, and economic persistence. The caregiving behaviors and background characteristics of parents are also studied. The average unemployment rate in childhood normally has a negative effect on human capital in adulthood. (JEL J11, J24, J31)     

THE EFFECTS OF EMPLOYMENT WHILE PREGNANT ON HEALTH AT BIRTH

Today, many pregnant women take a brief period of time off work to give birth. This article explores the effects of pregnancy employment on health at birth. Initial results show that pregnancy employment has beneficial effects. However, these effects often become statistically insignificant when I control for earnings from pregnancy employment and when I examine women employed prior to the pregnancy and siblings in fixed effects models. I conclude that beneficial effects of pregnancy employment are due to increased family income via earnings and to unobserved heterogeneity. There is no evidence that pregnancy employment adversely affects health at birth.(JEL J1 , J2 , J3 )     

Families by Adoption and Birth: I. Mother-Infant Socioemotional Interactions

The role of adoptive family dynamics in the etiology of both resilient and adverse developmental outcomes is not well understood. In this study, socioemotional aspects of the mother-infant relationship were examined in families by adoption and by birth. Matched groups of mothers and their 5-month-old first babies were observed in the home setting. Dyads in the two groups were comparable in the frequency and ranking of a full array of age-appropriate behaviors. Group differences emerged for selected infant and maternal behaviors; infants by birth were in an alert state and smiled more often than infants by adoption, and adoptive mothers nourished and caressed their infants more than did mothers by birth. While the structure of the infant's behavior repertoire was similar for both groups, there were twice as many significant correlations among maternal behaviors for the birth group than for the adoptive group. There were also more correlations between maternal and infant behaviors for dyads by birth than for dyads by adoption, and the nature of the correlations differed for the two groups. It is argued that both groups of mothers and babies were functioning in the adaptive, healthy range and that observed differences between them reflect subtle differences in behavioral emphasis, possibly related to the unique paths to parenthood represented by adoption and birth.     

Linkages Between Parents’ Differential Treatment,Youth Depressive Symptoms,and Sibling Relationships

We tested social comparison predictions about cross‐sectional and longitudinal associations between parents’ differential treatment of siblings and both youth depressive symptoms and sibling relationship qualities from middle childhood to late adolescence, controlling for dyadic parent‐child relationships and siblings’ ratings of parents’ fairness. Participants were parents and first‐ and second‐borns (M= 11.8 and 9.2 years old at Year 1) from 201 White, middle/working‐class families. Three‐level models revealed both cross‐sectional and longitudinal linkages between differential treatment and outcomes. For example, youth whose parent‐child relationships decreased in warmth relative to those of their sibling reported increases in depressive symptoms and decreases in sibling warmth. Gender and age moderated differential treatment‐depressive symptoms associations; birth order moderated differential treatment‐sibling relationship associations.     

Academic and Behavioral Outcomes Among the Children of Young Mothers

In this article, we use newly available data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to investigate the effects of early motherhood on academic and behavioral outcomes for children born to early child bearers. We find that early motherhood's strong negative correlation with children's test scores and positive correlation with children's grade repetition is almost entirely explained by prebirth individual and family background factors of teen mothers themselves. However, early childbearing is associated indirectly with reduced children's test scores through its linkage to family size (and thus to child birth order). We find a different pattern in predicting fighting, truancy, early sexual activity, and other problem behaviors among adolescent and young adult offspring. For these behaviors, maternal age at first birth remains an important risk factor even after controlling for a wide range of background factors and maternal characteristics. These results highlight the diverse pathways through which teen parenting might influence subsequent child well‐being and social performance.     

Developmental Associations Between Adolescent Alcohol Use and Dating Aggression

Although numerous studies have established a link between alcohol use and partner violence in adulthood, little research has examined this relation during adolescence. The current study used multivariate growth models to examine relations between alcohol use and dating aggression across Grades 8 through 12, controlling for shared risk factors (common causes) that predict both behaviors. Associations between trajectories of alcohol use and dating aggression were reduced substantially when common causes were controlled. Concurrent associations between the two behaviors were significant across nearly all grades but no evidence was found for prospective connections from prior alcohol use to subsequent dating aggression or vice versa. Findings suggest that prevention efforts should target common causes of alcohol use and dating aggression.     

Emotion regulation from infancy to toddlerhood: Individual and group trajectories of full-term and very-low-birthweight preterm infants

Adaptive emotion regulation begins with infants operating jointly with their parents to regulate their emotions, which fosters the development of independent regulation. Little is known about when or how this transition occurs, or the impact of factors such as parental availability or premature birth status. The current study examined the use of self-soothing, attentional distraction, and dyadic regulation in full-term and healthy very-low-birthweight (VLBW) preterm infant-mother dyads at 5 ½, 12, and 18 months of age. At 5 ½ months, dyads participated in the Still-Face procedure. At 12 and 18 months, dyads participated in two free-play interactions, a puzzle task, and an interference task. Emotion regulation behaviors were coded using two systematic, observational systems. Results indicated that infants used less self-soothing and attentional distraction and more dyadic regulation as they aged. Increased use of self-soothing at earlier ages predicted increased use of dyadic regulation at subsequent ages. Toddlers used more independent, attention-seeking, and escape behavior during periods of maternal unavailability. There were no significant differences between full-term and VLBW/preterm toddlers’ emotion regulation behaviors. Results from the current study contribute to the understanding of normative development of emotion regulation and the risk associated with prematurity.     

Self-Generated Motives for Not Gambling Among Young Adult Non-gamblers

Motivational models have been shown to usefully describe reasons for engaging in addictive behaviors including gambling disorder. Although most scales designed to measure motives have been derived statistically, self-generated open-ended responses have also shown utility for identifying unique motives for gambling. While the motivational structure for gambling disorder has been extensively explored, there has been a paucity of research examining motives for choosing not to gamble. This is not the case for other addictive behaviors such as alcohol use where motives for abstaining from drinking have been well defined. The primary goal of this study was to qualitatively explore and identify motives for not gambling in a sample of young adult non-gamblers using open-ended responses. A sample (N = 196) of undergraduate current non-gamblers, defined as no gambling activity over the previous 12 months, completed a series of questionnaires on demographics, gambling behavior, and alcohol consumption. Furthermore, they were asked to provide their top three reasons for not gambling in rank order. The results revealed eight specific motives for why participants chose not to gamble: ‘financial reasons and risk aversion’; ‘disinterest and other priorities’; ‘personal and religious convictions’; ‘addiction concerns’; ‘influence of others’ values’; ‘awareness of the odds’; ‘lack of access, opportunity, or skill’; and ‘emotional distress’. Personal and religious convictions reasons were also related to lifetime non-drinking, suggesting that these motives are associated with decreased addictive behaviors in general. Ultimately, these results may help to inform the design of prevention strategies for gambling disorder.     

Community Context,Land Use,and First Birth

This article examines the influence of community context and land use on the monthly odds of first birth in a society in the midst of dramatic fertility transition. The theoretical framework guiding our work predicts that proximity to nonfamily services should delay first births by creating opportunities for competing nonfamily activities and spreading new ideas that change expectations about family life. On the other hand, living in agricultural settings that provide opportunities for higher returns to child labor should speed first births. We use a longitudinal, multilevel, mixed‐method data from the Nepalese Himalayas to test these predictions. The empirical results reveal that nonfamily services during childhood and during early adulthood both have important independent influences on the odds of first birth. Also, as predicted, a high density of agricultural land use affects the odds of first births in the opposite direction, speeding first births. This clear pattern of contrasting effects provides important new evidence of the contextual dynamics that produce watershed changes in postmarital birth timing.     

Moral Incongruence and Pornography Use: A Critical Review and Integration

Internet pornography use (IPU) remains a controversial topic within sexual behavior research fields. Whereas some people report feeling dysregulated in their use of pornography, mental health and medical communities are divided as to whether IPU can be addictive. The present review sought to examine this issue more closely, with a focus on how variables other than pornography use, such as moral disapproval and moral incongruence (i.e., feeling as if one’s behaviors and one’s values about those behaviors are misaligned), might specifically contribute to self-perceived problems around pornography use. Through an examination of recent literature, the present work reviews evidence that moral incongruence about IPU is a common phenomenon and that it is associated with outcomes relevant to current debates about pornography addiction. Specifically, moral incongruence regarding IPU appears to be associated with greater distress about IPU, greater psychological distress in general, greater reports of problems related to IPU, and greater reports of perceived addiction to IPU. The implications of this body of evidence for both clinical and research communities are discussed, and future directions for research are considered.     

The Relationship of Birth Order and Gender with Academic Standing and Substance Use Among Youth in Latin America

Alfred Adler attempted to understand how family affects youth outcomes by considering the order of when a child enters a family (Adler, 1964). Adler's theory posits that birth order formation impacts individuals. We tested Adler's birth order theory using data from a cross-sectional survey of 946 Chilean youths. We examined how birth order and gender are associated with drug use and educational outcomes using three different birth order research models including: (1) Expedient Research, (2) Adler's birth order position, and (3) Family Size theoretical models. Analyses were conducted with structural equation modeling (SEM). We conclude that birth order has an important relationship with substance use outcomes for youth but has differing effects for educational achievement across both birth order status and gender.     

Body Appreciation and Contraceptive Use Among College Women: A Brief Report

Research suggests that body image and sexual behaviors are related, with poor body image associated with risky behaviors and positive body image related to protective behaviors. However, few studies explore the relationships between positive body image and contraceptive use. Accordingly, the current study investigated the relationship between body appreciation and barrier and hormonal contraceptive use among college women (N = 399). Body appreciation was significantly related to male condom use and to the use of both male condoms and a hormonal contraceptive. These findings are promising as dual contraceptive use is the best way to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).     

Use of Drinking Protective Behavioral Strategies and Sexual Perceptions and Behaviors in U.S. College Students

Alcohol use among college students is linked to an increased likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behaviors, including casual sex and unprotected sex. These behaviors increase college students' risks for negative social and health-related consequences. This study examined the relationship between drinking behaviors and protective behavioral strategies (PBS), expectancies and perceptions of sexual risk, and actual alcohol-related sexual behaviors and consequences. Sexually active college students completed Web-based self-report measures of drinking behaviors and use of PBS, alcohol expectancies and perceptions of risk, and sexual behaviors and related consequences (n = 524; 57.1% women). Findings indicated that PBS were related to lower expectancies of sexual risk and sexual disinhibition, and among lighter drinkers, lower expectancies of sexual enhancement from alcohol. PBS were also related to decreased perceptions of sexual-related risks, some alcohol-related sexual behaviors, including number of drinks before/during sex, and number of sexual consequences, but were not related to abstaining during sex, frequency of alcohol-related sexual behaviors, or general condom use. These findings demonstrate a disconnect between perceived and actual risks among college students, such that decreased perceptions of risk may not be associated with protective behaviors. Prevention and intervention implications are discussed.     

The Impact of Pregnancy and Childbirth on Sexual Behaviors: A Systematic Review

The purpose of this review was to examine and synthesize the available quality evidence to provide researchers, educators, and clinicians an overview of what is known about sexual behaviors during pregnancy and the year after childbirth. Search engines were used to identify peer-reviewed, English-language articles that met the inclusion criteria. A total of 56 prospective, retrospective, and qualitative studies published after 1996 were reviewed. A gradual decline in vaginal intercourse from prepregnancy to first trimester to third trimester was found. Most couples resume vaginal intercourse by eight weeks after childbirth, but this behavior does not occur at prepregnancy frequencies until closer to 12 months postchildbirth. Future studies should consider assessing sexual behaviors beyond vaginal intercourse and increase efforts in recruitment of diverse samples including non-White, nonheterosexual pregnant individuals, and partners of pregnant individuals.     

Perceived Parental Relationships and Health‐Risk Behaviors in College‐Attending Emerging Adults

The present study investigated the association of perceived parenting with health‐risk behaviors in an ethnically diverse sample of 1,728 college‐attending emerging adults. Participants completed retrospective measures of perceived maternal and paternal nurturance, connection, psychological control, and disrespect and reported their frequency of binge drinking, illicit drug use, unsafe sexual behavior, and impaired driving. Multivariate Poisson regression analyses indicated that perceived paternal acceptance was associated inversely with 6 of the 12 health‐risk behaviors measured, whereas perceived mothering was related only to 2 of these health‐risk behaviors. These patterns were consistent across gender, ethnicity, and family structure.